Summary of this article
MHADA has requested the state election commissioner to conduct the lottery of Pune division houses
Election Commission to decide on the lottery of 4,186 houses in next 2-3 days
Maharashtra’s state election commission will announce a decision regarding the lottery of 4,186 houses by Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority’s (MHADA) Pune division in the next two to three days, officials said. The lottery for these houses has been delayed, initially due to technical reasons, and currently, due to the election code of conduct in effect.
MHADA Pune division Chairman Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil recently met with State Election Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare to request permission to conduct the lottery for the houses. Officials said that the matter will be discussed with the Chief Secretary of the Election Commission, and a decision will be made within three days.
MHADA Pune division had begun the registration and application process of these houses in September, which are available under the 20 per cent inclusive housing scheme and under the 15 per cent integrated housing scheme. However, the pre-lottery process was extended twice due to technical difficulties and to garner more participation. Applicants have been left dry due to the delay in processes, and the Pune division has faced criticism due to the poor handling of the issue.
Technical difficulties, especially due to delays in application scrutiny, also caused the lottery to be postponed for the third time. This was followed by the municipal election code of conduct, which also caused the lottery to be stalled indefinitely and caused immense dissatisfaction among applicants. Pune's municipal election is due on January 15.
Applicants are also facing financial difficulties, as the deposit money, which many had taken out loans or used credit cards to pay for, has been held by MHADA since September. There has thus been a growing demand to conduct the lottery for the houses as soon as possible.
Many have also made demands for payment of interest on the deposit amount on social media if the lottery is not conducted. Patil and Waghmare met two days ago against this backdrop, where the former made a request for conducting a lottery during a time when the election code of conduct is in effect.
Patil made a case for conducting the lottery, saying that the pre-lottery processes were completed before the code of conduct came into effect, and only the results needed to be announced. Patil informed a local newspaper, Loksatta, that a request was made to the election commissioner to grant permission for the lottery to be held.
Patil also said that the election commission had given a positive response and that there was no obstacle to announcing the results of the lottery. However, Waghmare said that the commission will further discuss the matter with the Chief Secretary and the Additional Chief Secretary of the housing department and reach a final decision regarding the matter.
Patil added that the election commission indicated that the lottery results can be announced and expressed confidence that the commission will reach a decision in the next two to three days. He also showed confidence that the lottery would be conducted within a week.
A total of 2,15,965 people had applied for the houses available under the housing scheme, among which 1,980 applications were disqualified. The final list released December 26 showed 2,13,985 were eligible to participate in the lottery for the 4,186 houses.
